The invention relates to a holographic data storage medium which, for example, can be used for storing pictorial data such as photographs, logos, text and so on but also for the storage of other data.
Contained in a hologram, distributed over the area of the hologram, is optical phase information about an object, from which, when irradiated with light, and in particular coherent light from a laser, an image of the object can be reconstructed. Holograms are used in many and various ways in technology, for example in the form of largely forgery-proof identifiers. Identifiers of this type will be found, for example, on credit cards or check cards; as what are known as white light holograms, even when illuminated with natural light, they show a three-dimensional image of the object depicted. Photographically produced holograms are widespread, as are embossed holograms, in which a relief structure is embossed into the surface of a material, at which the light used to reproduce the object is scattered in accordance with the phase information stored in the hologram, so that the reconstructed image of the object is produced by interference effects.
WO 00/17864 describes a data storage medium with an optical information carrier, which contains a polymer film set up as a storage layer. The polymer film consists, for example, of biaxially oriented polypropylene. In the data storage medium previously disclosed, the polymer film is wound spirally in a plurality of layers onto a core, there being an adhesive layer in each case between adjacent layers. Information can be written into the data storage medium by the polymer film being heated locally with the aid of a write beam from a data drive, as a result of which the refractive index of the polymer film and the reflective capacity at the interface of the polymer film are changed locally. This effect can be amplified by an absorber dye which is added to the adhesive layers, which at least partly absorbs the write beam and discharges the heat produced in the process locally to the polymer film. With the aid of a read beam in the data drive, the changes in the polymer film can be registered, since the read beam is locally reflected more or less intensely at the interface of the polymer film, depending on the information written in. By focusing the write beam or read beam, information can be written specifically into a preselected position on the information carrier or read out from it.
It is an object of the invention to provide a holographic data storage medium which is inexpensive, has wide areas of application and is largely insensitive to external influences.
The holographic data storage medium according to the invention has a polymer film which is set up as a storage layer and which can be changed locally by heating. This polymer film is set up as a top layer of the data storage medium. Arranged underneath the polymer film is an absorber layer, which has an absorber dye which is set up to at least partly absorb a write beam serving to put information in and to discharge the heat produced in the process at least partly locally to the polymer film. The polymer film set up as a storage layer is preferably arranged in one layer in the data storage medium (preferably in a substantially flat arrangement), that is to say, for example, not wound up in a plurality of layers in spiral form.
Since the polymer film is set up as a top layer of the data storage medium, it can serve as the exposed outer side of the data storage medium and protects the generally relatively sensitive absorber layer located underneath. Furthermore, the changes in the polymer film which are effected by heating and using which holographic information is stored are primarily localized in the vicinity of the absorber layer, as explained in more detail further below. Therefore, this region of the polymer film provided with the stored information is likewise located in a protected zone. Undesired influences on the exposed outer side, such as scratches, therefore generally do not have any further effect and, above all, do not lead to a loss of data or to faults when putting information into the data storage medium.
The holographic data storage medium according to the invention is simply constructed, since an additional protective device can generally be dispensed with, and can therefore be produced inexpensively.
An adhesive layer is preferably arranged underneath the absorber layer, and makes it possible to stick the holographic data storage medium onto an object. If the adhesive layer is located immediately underneath the absorber layer, it simultaneously protects the absorber layer and the adjacent region of the polymer film with stored holographic information. The adhesive layer can, for example, contain an adhesive compound comprising an aqueous acrylate emulsion or can consist of functionalized poly(meth)acrylate. Other materials can also be used for the adhesive layer. One preferred thickness of the adhesive layer is about 20 μm, but other thicknesses are also possible.
In an advantageous refinement of the invention, a partly transparent reflective layer is arranged between the storage layer and the absorber layer. The reflective layer can have aluminum and preferably has a thickness in the range from 1 nm to 50 nm, other thicknesses also being possible. It is partly transparent, in order that the write beam penetrates as far as the absorber layer when information is being put in. Since the reflective layer is thin, it virtually does not hinder the discharge of heat to the polymer film. The reflective layer makes it easier to read out the stored holographic information in reflection, which represents a beneficial geometry in most applications. This is explained further below using examples. Furthermore, the reflective layer simplifies the operation of setting the focus of the write beam (see below).
It is also possible to arrange a reflective layer underneath the absorber layer. If there is an adhesive layer, this reflective layer is preferably located between the absorber layer and the adhesive layer. A layer structure of this kind permits the absorber layer to be penetrated in transmission when information is being read out of the holographic data storage medium, so that, for example, the contrast of the read-out signal is amplified if the absorption capacity of the absorber dye within the absorber layer varies in accordance with the information put in (amplitude effect; see below).
Suitable materials for the polymer film are, for example, polypropylene, polyvinylchloride, polyester, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene naphthalate, polymethylpentene (PMP; also poly-2-methylpentene) and polyimide. The polymer film preferably has a thickness such that it is self-supporting and can carry out the protective function explained above. Suitable thicknesses lie in the range between 10 μm and 100 μm, but other thicknesses are likewise possible.
The polymer film can be oriented and is preferably biaxially oriented, for example it being pretensioned in two mutually perpendicular directions within its plane during production. This generally increases the strength of the polymer film. Furthermore, in the case of an oriented polymer film, a high energy density is stored in the film material. As a result of local heating with the deposition of a relatively small amount of energy per unit area, for example with the aid of a write beam from a writing device, which is absorbed in the absorber layer, a relatively intense material change with a change in the local properties of the polymer film can be achieved.
In addition to the absorber dye, the absorber layer preferably has a binder. The absorber dye permits local heating of the polymer film which is sufficient to change the local properties of the polymer film with a relatively low intensity of the write beam. The absorber layer can be thin and, for example, have a thickness in the range from 0.1 μm to 5 μm; other thicknesses are likewise possible. Preferred binders, which serve as a matrix for the molecules of the absorber dye are, for example, optically transparent polymers, for example of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) or, in the case of applications for higher temperatures, of polymethylpentene, polyether ether ketone (PEEK) or polyether imide. The absorption maximum of the absorber dye should coincide with the light wavelength of the write beam used, in order to achieve efficient absorption. For a light wavelength of 532 nm of a write beam produced by a laser, for example dyes from the Sudan red family (diazo dyes) or (for particularly polar plastics) eosin scarlet are suitable. For the usual laser diodes with a light wavelength of 650 to 660 nm or 685 nm, green dyes, for example from the styryl family (which are usual as laser dyes), are better suited.
There are various possible ways to use the local change in the properties of the polymer film, effected by local heating of the latter, for the storage of information.
In one possible way, the refractive index of the polymer film can be changed locally by heating, it being possible for optical phase information to be stored in the polymer film via the local optical path length. In this case, provision is made to transilluminate the polymer film in transmission when reading out information (it being possible for the reflective layer to be helpful, see below). It is therefore possible to store phase information locally in the polymer film, that is to say in a region provided for the storage of a unit of information, by the refractive index in this region being changed by heating (for example with the aid of a write beam from a writing device). The local change in the refractive index effects a change in the optical path length of the radiation used when reading information out of the polymer film (which transilluminates the polymer film in transmission). The optical path length is specifically the product of the geometric path length and the refractive index. Therefore, via a change in the refractive index, the local phase angle of the radiation used when reading out information can be influenced, that is to say the desired holographic information can be stored as phase information. A hologram produced in the polymer film in this way is accordingly a refractive phase hologram.
In another possible way, the surface structure or interface structure of the polymer film can be changed locally by heating, it being possible for holographic information to be stored via the local interface structure of the polymer film. In this case, therefore, the interface structure or topography of the polymer film, in particular at the interface to the absorber layer or to the reflection layer, pointing away from the exposed outer side of the polymer film, can be changed locally, for example by a laser beam serving as a write beam being focused on to the absorber layer or the interface zone of the polymer film, so that the light energy is absorbed there and converted into heat energy. In particular if the laser beam is radiated in briefly (pulsed), the material change in the polymer film leading to the local change in the interface structure is limited to a very small volume, on account of the generally poor thermal conductivity of the polymer (or of a very thin reflective layer). If the holographic information is put into the polymer film point by point, the region associated with a point typically having linear lateral dimensions of the order of magnitude of 0.5 μm to 1 μm, the height profile of the polymer film typically changes by 50 nm to 500 nm, which depends in detail on the properties and operating conditions of the write beam and the properties of the polymer film, of the absorber layer and possibly of the reflective layer. The point grid, that is to say the center spacing between two points (“pits”), typically lies in the range from 1 μm to 2 μm. In general, it is true that shorter light wavelengths of the write beam permit a closer point grid.
Mixed forms are also conceivable, in which the holographic information can be stored both by a local change in the refractive index and by a local change in the interface structure of the polymer film.
The absorber dye can be set up such that its optical properties are changed locally when it absorbs a write beam serving to put information in. In this case, it is particularly advantageous if the absorber dye changes its absorption capacity locally, that is to say by being bleached partly or completely by the write beam. By means of local variation in the absorption capacity in the absorber layer, the effect achieved in the polymer film by the changes can be reinforced, so that the signal obtained when reading out the holographic data storage medium is more intense or more contrasty than if the absorber layer does not participate in the data storage. The weighting of the individual effects (local refractive index of the polymer film, local interface structure of the polymer film, amplitude effect as a result of locally bleached absorber dye) in the read signal may be influenced or set by choosing the layer structure of the holographic data storage medium. Thus, an amplitude effect is relatively high when a locally bleached absorber layer is transilluminated when information is being read out, such as is the case when a reflective layer is arranged underneath the absorber layer.
The information to be stored can be put into the holographic data storage medium by an item of holographic information contained in a hologram of a stored object being calculated as a two-dimensional arrangement and a write beam from a writing device, preferably a laser lithograph, being aimed at the polymer film and/or the absorber layer of the data storage medium and driven in accordance with the two-dimensional arrangement such that the local properties of the polymer film are set in accordance with the holographic information. Since the physical processes during the scattering of light at a stored object are known, a conventional structure for producing a hologram (in which coherent light from a laser, which is scattered by an object (stored object) is brought to interference with a coherent reference beam and the interference pattern produced in the process is recorded as a hologram) can be simulated for example with the aid of a computer program and the interference pattern or the modulation of the local properties of the polymer film can be calculated as a two-dimensional arrangement (two-dimensional array).
As already explained further above, examples of the local properties of the polymer film which are set in accordance with holographic information are the local refractive index and the local interface structure of the polymer film.
The resolution of a suitable laser lithograph is typically about 50 000 dpi (dots per inch). Therefore, the polymer film can be changed locally in regions or pits with a size of about 0.5 μm to 1 μm. The writing speed and other details depend, inter alia, on the parameters of the write laser (laser power, light wavelength) and the pulse duration and on the properties of the polymer film and the absorber layer.
The write beam is preferably aimed at the holographic data storage medium from the side of the top layer. In this case, it is possible, for example, to put information into the data storage medium if the adhesive layer does not have good optical properties or the data storage medium is bonded to a non-transparent substrate.
If the holographic data storage medium has a partly transparent reflective layer, as explained further above, then, in order to focus the write beam, its reflection from the reflective layer can be evaluated. A comparable reflection would also occur in the case of reflection at the interface between two media with different refractive indices if no reflective layer is arranged there but, in the present case, will be reinforced considerably by the reflective layer. The evaluation can be carried out, for example, via the magnitude of the reflection, measured with the aid of a detector, it being possible for the exact focus setting to be determined, for example, with the aid of calibration measurements. If the reflective layer is very thin (about 1 nm to 50 nm, but also more or less), it can be assumed that the focus of the write beam set to the reflective layer virtually coincides with the optimum focus in the absorber layer. Therefore, when information is put in, the absorber layer can be heated virtually in an optimum way.
As mentioned, the holographic information is preferably put in in the form of pits of predefined size. The term “pit” is to be understood here more generally in the sense of a changed region and not restricted to its original meaning (hole or depression). In this case, the holographic information can be stored in a pit in binary encoded form. This means that, in the region of a given pit, the local properties of the polymer film assume only one of two possible basic forms (basic values). These basic forms preferably differ considerably, in order that intermediate forms which occur in practice and which lie close to one or the other basic form can be assigned unambiguously to one or the other basic form, in order to store the information reliably and unambiguously.
Alternatively, the holographic information can be stored in a pit in continuously encoded form, the local properties of the polymer film in the pit being set in accordance with a value from a predefined value range. If, for example, the local interface structure of the polymer film is to be set, the local maximum height change in the interface structure in the pit is therefore selected from a predefined value range. This means that, in a given pit, the interface structure of the polymer film can assume intermediate forms between two basic forms, so that the maximum height change of the intermediate form which is present assumes a value from a predefined value range whose limits are given by the maximum height changes of the two basic forms. In this case, the information can therefore be stored “in gray steps”, so that each pit is assigned the information content of more than one bit. This is correspondingly true of the setting of the local refractive index of the polymer film.
In order to read information out from the holographic data storage medium according to the invention, light, preferably coherent light (for example from a laser) can be aimed at a large area of the storage layer of the data storage medium. In this case, the light is modulated by the locally varying properties of the polymer film (for example the refractive index or the interface structure). As a reconstruction of the information contained in the irradiated region, a holographic image is registered at a distance from the data storage medium, for example by a CCD sensor which is connected to a data processing device.
In principle, the reading operation can be carried out with transmission of the holographic data storage medium, that is to say the data storage medium is transilluminated completely and the holographic image is registered behind the data storage medium. However, for this purpose all the layers of the data storage medium must have a good optical quality, that is to say not just the polymer film but also the absorber layer and an optional adhesive layer. It is therefore more advantageous to read out the information in reflection, the light used for reading being reflected after passing through the polymer film. In this case, the holographic image is produced by light which has passed twice through the polymer film and, in the process, has been modulated, for example by local variations in the refractive index and/or the interface structure of the polymer film. In principle, reading can even be carried out in reflection if there is no separate reflective layer present; the only precondition is the presence of an interface between two media with different refractive indices. However, the reflective layer mentioned between the polymer film and the absorber layer improves the reproduction of the holographic image considerably.
The term “large area” is to be understood to mean an area which is considerably larger than the area of a pit. In this sense, for example an area of 1 mm2 is large. For the scheme in accordance with which information is stored and read out, there are many different possibilities. It is conceivable to read a hologram out of the polymer film in one operation by the entire area of the region of the holographic data storage medium set up as a hologram being irradiated in one operation. In particular in the case of relatively large areas, however, it is advantageous to divide up the information to be stored in to a number or large number of individual regions (for example with a respective area of 1 mm2) and to read out the information in one operation only from a predefined individual region.
During the reading of information, as a result of the locally varying properties of the polymer film, propagation time differences of the light waves originating from various points occur, that is to say substantially periodic phase modulation (which applies in particular in the case of local setting of the refractive index or the interface structure of the polymer film). The region of the polymer film covered by the light acts in the same way as a diffraction grating, which deflects incident light in a defined manner. The deflected light forms an image of the stored object, which constitutes the reconstruction of stored holographic information.
In principle, holographic information from different types of stored objects can be used with the holographic data storage medium. For example, the information contained in images, such as photographs, logos, texts and so on, can be stored and read out. However, the storage of machine-readable data is particularly advantageous. This is carried out, for example, in the form of what are known as data pages, the holographic information contained in a hologram of a graphic bit pattern (which represents the data information) being put as explained into the polymer film serving as a storage layer. During reading, a holographic image of this graphic pattern is produced. The information contained therein can be registered, for example with the aid of a precisely adjusted CCD sensor, and can be processed by associated evaluation software. For the reproduction of images in which high accuracy is not important, a simple matt disk or, for example; a camera with and LCD screen is already in principle sufficient. During the holographic storage of machine-readable data, it is advantageous that the information does not have to be read out sequentially but that an entire data set can be registered in one operation, as explained. If, in spite of the protection by the exposed outer side of the polymer film of the regions of the data storage medium serving to store information, damage nevertheless occurs then, as opposed to a conventional data storage medium, this generally does not lead to a loss of data but merely to impairment of the resolution of the reconstructed holographic image when reading out the information. This is generally not a problem.